Dads playing 'Mr. Mom' more often than ever, White House report says

LANSING -- The 1980s Michael Keaton film "Mr. Mom" made a lot of jokes at the expense of a hapless dad trying to clean the house, shop for groceries and take care of the kids while his wife went to work.

Today, however, most dads are lending a hand and taking care of the kids, the White House Council of Economic Advisers says in a new report.

The number of stay-at-home dads has doubled over the last 25 years, with 1 in 5 fathers staying at home with preschool-age children while Mom goes to work.

Dads seem to be taking on specific tasks even when they're not staying at home, with 95 percent of fathers reporting in 2010 that they were regularly in charge of bathing and diapering kids, up from 82 percent in 2002. Percentages were also up for reading to kids and helping with homework.

Dads seem to be putting more effort into taking care of children and housework because they're spending less time at the office. In 1965, fathers spent an average of 42.5 hours a week at work, only 4.4 hours on housework and 2.5 hours on child care. In 2012, fathers were spending an average of 38.5 hours a week at work, 8.8 hours on housework and 7.1 hours on child care.

Fathers of MLive, are you spending more time on child care than in the past? What are you doing around the house? Have your say in the comments.